Right, so he said [scary wolf voice] “Little pig, little pig, let me in! I’m a nice wolf, but I sound like this because this is how wolves talk.” and because he was a nice wolf, the little pig let him into the house, and offered him something to eat, which was…?

No, the wolf wasn’t hungry. He just wanted to watch tv.

OK, right, the wolf wasn’t hungry, so they just sat down to watch tv, and–

No, no– first they have to make the tv. Out of… What’s our tv made out of?

A tv is made out of glass, and metal, and plastic.

OK, so they made that. How do you make glass?

Well, to make glass, you take some sand, and get it super, super hot, and then it melts, and turns into glass.

OK. So they did that.

Right, so the pig and the wolf made some glass–

No, first they have to go to the beach.

OK, fine, first the pig and the wolf went to the beach, and they got some sand, then they built a special oven to get the sand super, super hot, so it melted and turned into glass. then they took a big piece of glass, and made it into a tv.

Wait, what about the rest of the stuff. What’s metal made out of?

You make metal by taking special rocks, and getting them super, super hot. Then they melt, and turn into metal.

OK. So they went to Rocky Creek.

Right, so the pig and the wolf went to Rocky Creek, and got some rocks to make metal.

Because the pig’s house is right next to Rocky Creek. So they went there to get rocks, and brought them back to the house. Rocky Creek is close to the house.

It’s not too far from the beach, either, apparently.

Yeah!

Right, so they melted the rocks to make metal.

No, first they had to go to the forest to get some logs. Then they brought the logs back and put them in a, a, a, fire thing, with a fire, and they made a big fire and got it hot.

And then they melted the rocks, and made some metal, and used the metal and the glass that they made earlier to make a tv. And then they went inside and watched tv, and what did they watch?

Cars 2.

Right, because pigs and wolves love Lightning McQueen and Mater. So they watched Cars 2, and then they were hungry. Because it’s a lot of work making glass and metal to build a tv so you can watch Cars 2. So they made dinner, and what did they have for dinner?

No, no– first they have to make the stove. Out of… What’s our stove made of?

————————–

Look for my forthcoming book, How to Explain Materials Science to Your Three-Year-Old, available whenever we get to the end of this story. Which might be some time.

There’s a book about this, called The Toaster Project. The author decided to try to build a toaster from scratch, and the book documents his successes and failures, with some nice discussions of the science and economics of it.

That would be a fantastic book! It goes without saying of course that materials science is perceived to be the unglamorous cousin of particle physics. But after all is said and done, what have the last fifty years of particle physics given us? Particles. Materials science, otoh, is extremely useful.

And there’s a bit of precedent too – Asimov had one called “The Search for the Elements”, though of course it didn’t go into the chemistry of plastics (though I think both subjects were covered in separate books in the Time/Life science series.)

Material Science brings persons the comfortable environment.Though the hard study and endeavor is necessary as far as arriving at there,we will get a variety of wealthy knowledge.Also,I might understand that to study itself is the necessary and sufficient condition for humanity.The story might says to ourselves that the technology and the environment is possible for coexistence in an constant relation looking like showing persons to how to consider uncertainty principle.

Material Science brings persons the comfortable environment.Though the hard study and endeavor is necessary as far as arriving at there,we will get a variety of wealthy knowledge.Also,I might understand that to study itself is the necessary and sufficient condition for humanity.The story might say to ourselves that the technology and the environment is possible for coexistence in an constant relation looking like showing persons to how to consider uncertainty principle.

Material Science brings persons the comfortable environment.Though the hard study and endeavor is necessary as far as arriving at there,we will get a variety of wealthy knowledge.Also,I might understand that to study itself is the necessary and sufficient condition for humanity.The story might say to ourselves that the technology and the environment is possible for coexistence in an constant relation looking like showing persons to how to consider uncertainty principle.

Books

You've read the blog, now try the books:

Eureka: Discovering Your Inner Scientist will be published in December 2014 by Basic Books. "This fun, diverse, and accessible look at how science works will convert even the biggest science phobe." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "In writing that is welcoming but not overly bouncy, persuasive in a careful way but also enticing, Orzel reveals the “process of looking at the world, figuring out how things work, testing that knowledge, and sharing it with others.”...With an easy hand, Orzel ties together card games with communicating in the laboratory; playing sports and learning how to test and refine; the details of some hard science—Rutherford’s gold foil, Cavendish’s lamps and magnets—and entertaining stories that disclose the process that leads from observation to colorful narrative." --Kirkus ReviewsGoogle+

How to Teach Relativity to Your Dog is published by Basic Books. "“Unlike quantum physics, which remains bizarre even to experts, much of relativity makes sense. Thus, Einstein’s special relativity merely states that the laws of physics and the speed of light are identical for all observers in smooth motion. This sounds trivial but leads to weird if delightfully comprehensible phenomena, provided someone like Orzel delivers a clear explanation of why.” --Kirkus Reviews "Bravo to both man and dog." The New York Times.

How to Teach Physics to Your Dog is published by Scribner. "It's hard to imagine a better way for the mathematically and scientifically challenged, in particular, to grasp basic quantum physics." -- Booklist "Chad Orzel's How to Teach Physics to Your Dog is an absolutely delightful book on many axes: first, its subject matter, quantum physics, is arguably the most mind-bending scientific subject we have; second, the device of the book -- a quantum physicist, Orzel, explains quantum physics to Emmy, his cheeky German shepherd -- is a hoot, and has the singular advantage of making the mind-bending a little less traumatic when the going gets tough (quantum physics has a certain irreducible complexity that precludes an easy understanding of its implications); finally, third, it is extremely well-written, combining a scientist's rigor and accuracy with a natural raconteur's storytelling skill." -- BoingBoing